By SARAH BULLOCK
Staff Reporter
sbullock@cortlandstandardnews.net
Greek Peak’s Adventure Center workers tried out new outdoor laser tag equipment Saturday, as they got ready to offer the game to the public today, one of three upgrades to the center to arrive in the last two weeks.
A children’s rock wall is already set up indoors and a blow-up outdoor movie screen is set to show films this month.
John Meier and Marc Stemerman, who purchased Greek Peak’s resort, lodge, spa, water park and adventure center for $7.6 million through a bankruptcy auction April 19, had announced the renovations at a June 13 news conference, as well as the construction of a new $2.2 million high-speed chair lift and other improvements.
The laser tag equipment, rock wall and movie screen are part of an effort to provide more affordable activities that can be done over and over again, rather than more expensive, one-time activities, said Megan-Mack Nicholson, manager of operations at the adventure center.
Greek Peak is also looking to attract more families, as well as adrenaline junkies who might be attracted to the downhill mountain biking planned for the future, Nicholson said.
In addition to movies, the center’s new 12- by 14-foot screen will air the Olympics and X-Games at the bottom of the ski slopes or on a new deck at Orion’s Pub when the games are going on, she said.
The laser tag system, which includes full-size, blow-up fuel drums and ACME crates, can be set up at different locations at the Adventure Center, including the surrounding fields and woods, or rented for home use, Nicholson said.
She hopes to attract laser tag leagues, including some based in Syracuse, as well as Cortland County communities.
One attraction of the laser tag is that its an activity a group of people can do together, Nicholson said.
“It’s more about the experience of being together and not just a zip line,” she said.
The children’s rockwall will also give children an attraction at the center when it rains and the children’s bounce house is shutdown, she said.
Kelcy Foote, a worker at the center, said she was excited that the laser tag system was added.
“And this one’s different because it fits with the whole adventure theme, I think,” said Foote, 20, of Dryden.
Another worker, Abby Hughes, 21, of Cortland, noted that Greek Peak will also have a rare outdoor movie theater, while traditional theaters are in some communities.
“But drive-ins are definitely dwindling,” Hughes said.